Winnipeg Blue Bombers bench looks on as Edmonton Eskimos Fred Stamps (2) runs with the ball during CFL game action at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. Friday, September 20. 2013.

sun photo/Winnipeg Sun/Qmi Agenc

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Max Hall (15) throws the ball during CFL game action at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. Friday, September 20. 2013.

sun photo/Winnipeg Sun/Qmi Agenc

Winnipeg Blue Bombers Henoc Muamba (10) (left) and Kenny Mainor (54) celebrate a play against theEdmonton Eskimos during CFL game action at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. Friday, September 20. 2013.

Topics

The Bomber locker-room after losses this season has never been as quiet as it used to be.

There’s usually enough chit-chat going on to make you wonder if they had won or lost.

Not on Friday night, though.

Not after blowing a 20-0 lead and ultimately losing 35-27 to the Edmonton Eskimos in overtime in front of an announced crowd of 28,859 spectators on a chilly night at Investors Group Field that dropped their record to a CFL-worst 2-10.

Definitely not on this night.

This one actually hurt.

“It’s the toughest loss of my entire career, including university and high school and CGEP,” linebacker Pierre-Luc Labbe said. “It’s hard to believe. It’s horrible to not only lose, but to do it in front of our fans, who were amazing all night.”

Winnipeg remains four points back of the Montreal Alouettes for third place in the East Division. The Als are 4-7 and play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday in Moncton.

Winnipeg hosts Buck Pierce and the B.C. Lions on Friday night at IGF.

The Bombers had the game won with a minute remaining, but Mike Reilly’s deep pass on third-and-10 bounced off Demond Washington’s hands and into the waiting arms of Fred Stamps, who was all alone behind the coverage.

The Eskimos, down 27-24 at the time, had a chance to win the contest a few plays later, but Shamawd Chambers dropped the ball in the end zone and they had to settle for Hugh O’Neill’s field goal that made it 27-27.

After almost botching the ensuing kickoff the Bombers took a pair of knees to kill the clock, and the crowd booed loudly towards the Winnipeg bench.

“We didn’t have enough confidence in our offence trying to score in the final 26 seconds,” head coach Tim Burke said. “I probably shouldn’t even have tried to return the kick.

“Plus, you’re playing overtime at home and we should have a chance to win in overtime at home.”

As for Washington’s inability to knock the ball down on third-and-10, Burke once again pointed to the Bombers being the most inexperienced team in the CFL thanks to the way fired GM Joe Mack put the roster together.

Washington refused to talk to the media afterwards, saying he doesn’t do post-game interviews, but Burke let it be known that it was basically his defensive halfback’s fault that they lost the game.

“A veteran guy would have knocked the ball down and we would’ve won,” Burke said. “But it was a young guy, and he tried to make the pick, and it bounced into their hands. That’s what happens when you have a young team. You sometimes make young guy mistakes.”

In overtime the Eskimos needed just two plays to get into the end zone, the second a nine-yard run by Hugh Charles that was aided by Cauchy Muamba’s face masking penalty on the previous play.

Justin Goltz had to enter the contest late in the fourth quarter when Max Hall left due to a chest injury of some kind, and after an incomplete pass he lost 19 yards after getting sacked and fumbling the ball.

Goltz’s pass attempt on third-and-29 was knocked down, and Edmonton’s stunning comeback, which improved its record to 3-9, was complete.

Sandro DeAngelis also missed a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and Winnipeg had a couple of dropped balls on sure interceptions. Their chances to win were plentiful, but they threw them away like only a 2-10 team can.

“It’s not only one play,” Labbe said. “It’s just the whole night there’s little mistakes that we committed that we just can’t do. We’re a good team, but we’re not good enough to be able to win and commit that many mistakes — penalties and we could’ve had a couple of picks, too. We just didn’t capitalize, and that’s what killed us tonight.”

The Bombers led 20-0 midway through the second quarter thanks to a solid game plan and precision passing by Hall, who completed 18 of 27 attempts for 253 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Terrence Edwards caught his first touchdown pass of the season, Jason Boltus scored on a one-yard plunge, and DeAngelis booted a pair of field goals.

The home side led 20-11 at the break, and it stretched the lead to 27-11 early in the third when Jovon Johnson scooped up a Fred Stamps fumble and rumbled 48 yards to the end zone.

That should have been good enough, but the Eskimos chipped away and erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know what you all want me to say,” Johnson said. “I’m disgusted. It hurt, man. It hurt. Simple as that. We were supposed to win that game no question, but we didn’t, so what are we to do now. Move on.”

Bombers blow big lead, lose to Eskimos in overtime

Winnipeg’s quarterback carousel this season really has been quite something.

For the first four weeks it was Buck Pierce, Justin Goltz and Max Hall. Then it was Goltz, with Hall and Pierce backing up. Then it was Hall, with Goltz and Pierce in reserve. Then it was Goltz again, this time with Hall and Jason Boltus — in that order — waiting in the wings.

Now, in Week 13, it’s a brand new setup once again, which is odd considering there are only so many ways to arrange four quarterbacks. On Friday night against the Eskimos it will be Hall starting, but with Boltus moved up to the No. 2 spot and Goltz relegated to No. 3.

It’s like a soap opera: As the Quarterback Turns.

Boltus has been in Winnipeg for less than a month, but he has already moved past Goltz on the depth chart. That’s not completely surprising when you consider he spent three seasons in Hamilton with Bombers offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille.

“We just feel like he’s maybe moving up a

Also in this article

Bombers-Eskimos Sept. 20, 2013

About the author

Other Stories

The big story going into Thursday night's clash between the Bombers and Lions was how limited Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy was probably going to be after suffering a knee injury in last Saturday's loss to Edmonton.